Everything You Need to Know About the Legality of IPTV

Is IPTV Legal? Here’s What You Need to Know

If IPTV is an entirely new concept to you, you probably have many questions. One of the most burning ones is probably if IPTV is legal. After all, having access to hundreds of channels and TV shows at all times may sound too good to be true.

Don’t worry; IPTV is perfectly legal in most parts of the world.

However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. There are some bad actors in the industry that operate illegally.

That’s why it’s crucial to familiarize yourself with the laws surrounding IPTV and learn how to identify illegal IPTV services to protect yourself.

But before we get to it, If you have any questions about IPTV and how it works, check out our comprehensive guide to IPTV. With that out of the way, here’s a detailed guide on the legality of IPTV to help keep you informed.

Is IPTV Legal?

IPTV is legal in most parts of the world. However, the laws behind IPTV regulation are pretty complex and may vary between countries.

First things first, IPTV is an online-based service, and internet laws are still in their infancy. That means most of the existing online-related regulations are vague or outdated. However, there are still many that affect IPTV to ensure consumer safety. 

Let’s immediately get one thing out of the way — all major IPTV providers own licenses to the content they offer, and their services are entirely legal. 

There are many more than just the above four, but these are well-established brands you cannot go wrong with. 

But let’s say you don’t want to settle with either of these. In that case, you’ll need more information to make an educated decision. That’s why we’ll start by covering the basics of the laws that might affect IPTV providers in your country or state.

IPTV Laws in a Nutshell

he two most prominent laws that affect IPTV providers in the U.S. are the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (1998) and Protecting Lawful Streaming Act (2020).

The DMCA is the oldest law passed to regulate copyright law on the internet in general. According to this law, content providers on the internet must purchase correct licenses to get streaming permissions. That also applies to IPTV providers.

Anyone who breaks the DMCA is susceptible to substantial penalties (usually in the form of financial fees). However, enforcing this law was (and still is) incredibly challenging. The technology to effectively do it at scale is lacking. That is why few ever got punished by this law and why there are still many illegal IPTV providers out there.

The prosecution rates significantly increased with the introduction of the Protecting Lawful Streaming Act in 2020. This recent law gave the U.S. Department of Justice more freedom to enforce penalties on any bad actors in the industry.

In Canada, the law regulating online copyright is called the Copyright Act, which works similarly to the American DMCA.

Can You Be Fined for Using Illegal IPTV Services?

Yes, you can. However, that rarely happens. It’s much more likely that your country will pursue legal action against the IPTV provider than you as the individual.

Either way, you should stay on the right side of the law just to be on the safe side.

But how do you identify if an IPTV service is legal or illegal? Here are a few guidelines to help you in that regard.

When Is IPTV Legal?

IPTV is legal if the service provider adheres to copyright infringement laws. That means they must obtain a license for every show or program they provide.

Identifying whether an IPTV provider has adequate licenses can be tricky, though. Here are a few surefire indicators that they are legitimate:

They link to their partners.
They have a dedicated streaming app.
Most legitimate IPTV providers use minimal ads and opt for a subscription-based monetization model instead.
Most legal providers also sell other services (e.g., internet, telecommunication) besides IPTV.
If a provider checks the above boxes, it’s likely a safe one to subscribe to.

When Is IPTV Illegal?

One can never be 100% sure when identifying an illegal IPTV provider. However, you can often spot many hints that should immediately raise red flags:

They are hosted offshore.
The provider is associated with streaming or downloading TV content without permission or a license.
They offer channels that aren’t licensed in your country.
They don’t mention their partners.
Their services are free or unusually cheap (licenses are expensive).
They suggest you use a VPN for the optimal experience.
They encourage paying with untraceable payment methods like cryptocurrencies.
If you notice any of the above when looking into an IPTV provider, be wary — they might be offering illegal services. Avoid such providers at all costs.

Why You Should Avoid Illegal IPTV Services

As we previously mentioned, even though most of the legal burden falls on the provider streaming copyrighted content, viewers can also suffer penalties. Even though that rarely happens, there are many reasons to avoid illegal IPTV services besides suffering legal consequences.

You may get scammed — Nothing prevents the fraudulent provider from accepting your subscription payment and disappearing from the face of the Earth. Since the provider operates under the law, you have no legal means to protect yourself from scammers.
Viruses and malware run rampant — Many illegal IPTV sites have malware everywhere. In today’s world, where our PCs store most of our private data, it’s not worth risking having that data stolen.
Poor user experience — These illegal IPTV streaming sites usually have a poor user experience. Whether that’s the case because of many intrusive ads or poor player loading times, your experience will be far from smooth.
Your ISP could downgrade or disable your internet — Users found to participate in piracy regularly may suffer consequences at the hands of their internet service providers in some countries. ISPs might decide to downgrade their services or disable them entirely.
As you can see, there are plenty of potential consequences for using illegal IPTV other than getting prosecuted. We don’t know about you, but we don’t think risking it is worth it.

Is IPTV legal?

IPTV is legal in most parts of the world as long as the IPTV provider has purchased the rights to stream content from its respective owner.

Is IPTV illegal?

IPTV is legal worldwide as long as the services provider purchases appropriate licenses to stream that content. Illegal IPTV providers are only those that do not have licenses for their content and are thus infringing on copyright laws.

Is IPTV legal in the USA?

Yes, IPTV is legal in the U.S. as long as the provider you’re streaming from has purchased the appropriate licenses for the streamed content and is not infringing any copyright laws.

Is IPTV legal in Canada?

IPTV is legal in Canada as long as the service providers abide by the global copyright laws and purchase a license for the content they plan to stream.

Is IPTV legal in Europe?

IPTV is legal in Europe if the service providers buy the rights from the respective content owners before streaming. Streaming pirated content or content infringing on global copyright laws is illegal in Europe.

Is IPTV legal in the UK?

IPTV is legal in the U.K. as long as the content streamed isn’t pirated. Providers must purchase appropriate licenses from respective content creators before being legally allowed to stream.

IPTV Laws

In 1998, the United States established the Digital Millennium Copyright Act with the goal of discouraging services like IPTV from providing copyrighted content via the internet, without the correct licenses, by imposing fines and penalties.

(1) establishing protections for online service providers in certain situations if their users engage in copyright infringement, including by creating the notice-and-takedown system, which allows copyright owners to inform online service providers about infringing material so it can be taken down; (2) encouraging copyright owners to give greater access to their works in digital formats by providing them with legal protections against unauthorized access to their works (for example, hacking passwords or circumventing encryption)

While IPTV services were punishable for providing illegal content, there were not many penalties to users who willfully streamed copyrighted material.

However, this changed with the introduction of the Protecting Lawful Streaming Act of 2020, which allows the Department of Justice to impose felony charges upon illegal IPTV services. This act significantly increases the criminal penalties for those who illegally stream such content.

Alternatively, the Copyright Act protects works like music, films, and art, ensuring individuals and services cannot use content without the owner’s permission in Canada.

In 2019, the Notice and Notice regime was updated to ensure copyright holders couldn’t directly fine or ask for payment if an ISP identified a user to be downloading or streaming illegal content.

However, illegal IPTV users can still be open to prosecution if found to be willingly using illegal IPTV services.